Irresponsible, Foolish, and An Excuse For The Same Old Politics And Pork? Or Bold and Decisive Action? You make the call!

Leaving out the earmarks does mean Congress will have less control over how the money is spent. But, Obey says, “So what? This is an emergency. We’ve got to simply find a way to get this done as fast as possible and as well as possible, and that’s what we’re doing.”

via Earmark-Free Stimulus Bill Lacks Spending Direction : NPR.

WSJ Real Time Economics summarizes reponses to the latest unemployment data.

Here’s a good analysis of what to expect in the near future by Nigel Gault, IHS Global Insight, based on the layoffs already announced and “in the pipeline”:

There is no end in sight to the huge payroll declines, as high-profile lay-off announcements keep coming, and initial unemployment insurance claims have moved above 600,000 for the first time in this cycle. February might be even worse than January. We have now lost 3.6 million jobs since the cycle peak in December 2007, with 1.8 million lost in the last three months alone. We are heading for total job losses in the 6-7 million range and an unemployment rate well above 9%.

In my continuing attempt to look on the bright side, you’ve got to love an environment that drives over-the top quotes like “slow motion train wreck” and “massively intensified”!